Monster Hunter Freedom 2 [PSP]

Hi everyone. This will be my first entry for this gaming blog I just created 2 minutes ago, out of free time. Monster Hunter was presented to gamers years ago; featuring beautifully rendered landscape, frightening and unique monsters, and an epic hunting with your friends. The feedback was quite good, which I believe made Capcom decide to put one of their great games into the PSP. However, there are some flaws which I will cover that in my review. Yeah, every great game has something wrong within.

Monster Hunter Freedom 2

Publisher: Capcom
Platform: PlayStation Portable (PSP)
Genre: MMORPG

GAMEPLAY

Many parts of the game are similar to the original Monster Hunter we know with minor changes such as NPC locations. The game introduces new "farming" system allowing players to harvest resources without having to go on a quest (nice). The new farming system works pretty decent. There are four types of resource you can gather from here: Fish, Minerals, Herbs, and Insects. Yes it is just the same as digging up ores during a quest, but with limited amount.

The good part is that you can get items from your farm without having to have all those necessary tools, for example, pickaxes. However, they prevent you from infinite gathering by limiting the amount of things you can get. Then you will have to take a quest. After finishing your quest, the resources will be available once again. And yes, keep repeating that cycle.

Another interesting feature is the "Gathering Hall" which, I think, was added since the first Monster Hunter Freedom. The Gathering Hall provides you more difficult quests with more valuable rewards. You can access both "Offline Gathering Hall" and "Online Gathering Hall." I don't think I have to tell you how they differ from each other.

CONTROL

How can I control my character with only one analog stick on my PSP?! Well, you can. Of course you won't be moving your character with D-PAD. Since PSP got only one analog stick attached, all the attack moves are performed with only two buttons: O and Triangle, and a combination of both. It was a bit frustrating the first time I try this game, but you will be okay with it after playing for awhile.

However, as we know that each weapon has different control, I won't be listing out the whole controlling pattern for every weapon. But let's put it simple, O button is responsible for most horizontal attack, while the Triangle is used for vertical ones. Pressing both O and Triangle will trigger a special move for each weapon.

The old features like pressing Square to use selected items, pressing X to prone or dodge, or pressing R Button to quickly sprint remain the same as every other Monster Hunter game.

However, camera can be eventually annoying. Since the proportion and the composition of the game like the size of a character and a monster remain the same as you are playing on TV, the PSP screen seems to be too small for this. There will be a moment that you can't see anything on your screen but your character running around; and that is not good for fast-pace game like this. And since you are attacking with those buttons, not the analog stick, it is a bit difficult to slash accurately. I found no problem using bows and bow guns though.

GRAPHIC

Pretty decent so far. Monster Hunter Freedom 2 seems to be one of the best graphic for PSP. Characters, weapons, and monsters are nicely rendered pretty much like Monster Hunter on PS2 which is, to be said, considered a great achievement since PSP has lower specs than PS2.

SUMMARY

Well, if you happen to be the type that likes doing quest, gathering resources, crafting new elegant armors every 2 hours then this game is best for you. For those who can't delay their gratification and demand the result of your playing immediately, forget about this game. Monster Hunter Freedom 2 requires your patience and attention. Like many other MMORPGs, it takes a long time to makes you happy with the game :)

-RATING-

GAMEPLAY: 8/10 (lack of quest variation)
CONTROL: 7/10 (minor difficulty)
GRAPHIC: 10/10 (for PSP, it deserves full score)

OVERALL: 8/10

"one of the most outstanding game on PSP" - Name

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